Robinson World Tour Part 2: April 2014

Good Morning Vietnam!!!!

We just had to start this blog with that title. (We will get back to the normal alliterations when I do the Laos blog). Being here and hearing some of the names in like being in the movie Good Morning Vietnam. We can even imagine Robin Williams doing his weather forecasts. We have not sweat like this ever. Sorry for not posting sooner but the internet has been slow which makes blogging difficult and the pace of our journey has quickened.

Vietnam is a stark contrast to Cambodia. There is a bit more order here and there is not as nearly as much garbage on the streets. They still love to honk their horns and they do this seemingly all the time. Traffic doesn’t seem to stop at all they just slow down and weave their way through intersections and traffic circles. Crossing the street as a pedestrian is like playing a human game of frogger. You just take a leap of faith and keep moving at the same pace and traffic somehow seems to get around you. There are more motos than we have ever seen and this only intensifies the walking experience. You can’t walk on the sidewalks because that is where they park their motos. We took a GoPro video of walking the streets but it was too large to share on the blog. Suffice it to say it was interesting as cars, buses and motos all came very close.

Our journey had us in a homestay in the Mekong Delta on the first night. It was hot, humid, mosquito filled and very memorable. The family was friendly and showed us how to cook a traditional meal. We all had a chance to try it out. Our group was awoken before dawn by a large number of roosters who don’t know how to tell time.

After the homestay we were then city bound and this took us to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). This city has over 5 million motorcycles and scooters. It was here that we had the opportunity to find out the Vietnamese side of the war story. This war was brutal on all sides especially the effects of agent orange. They do love their propaganda as much as we do. I’m sure the truth about what really happened is out there somewhere.

From the busy city streets we took our first night train and headed for the beaches. The train was called the Reunification Express and seemed to come right out of a 1950’s movie. Our stop took us to Nha Trang which they say is the Miami Beach of Vietnam but change the Cubans to Russians. We do have stories to tell about the various Russians we had the opportunity to encounter. It was here that we had a chance to go snorkeling and see if their boating skills were same as their road driving skills. The snorkeling was very good and we took lots of photos but again too many to post here. Their boat driving skills are very different. We have included a photo of the harbor. Look at the number of tires (tyres) around each vessel. These are not just for good looks. They smash into each other and the docks with seemingly no regard for courtesy and they all hope the tires will slow down the damage. It was definitely an adventure we will not forget.

Hoi An was our next stop. This quaint like UNESCO World Heritage Site was a welcome step back from the fast paced city life. This town is known for its tailors. We arrived early after another night train and headed straight for one of the tailor shops to see what they could do. We did have to choose our shops wisely as some of them still use child labour. In the end I got two suits, six dress shirts (I made sure they were not shinny this time) and Lisa got one dress, two shirts and two pairs of shorts (cost 650). In the afternoon we were going on bike ride to ride a water buffalo or so we thought. It ended up being a four hour ride through the countryside and included so much more. It was here that we all got a chance to water local vegetables, ride on the dykes between rice paddies, of course ride the water buffalo, load our bikes on a boat and float back into town at sunset and then ride our bikes through the city streets back to our hotel. Lisa was a little freaked out trying to cross intersections but I had a blast and weaved through traffic with relative ease. The next morning saw us up early and heading to Marble Mountain to do some abseiling (which is like rappelling). It was here that we did three descents, two into caves and one on the outside of the mountain. The last one was the by far the coolest, scariest and most interesting. It was 57 meters into a cave where we ended up standing on the backside of a temple alter. We were like real life Indiana Jones’. Our last morning had us at a cooking class where we learned how to cook five traditional Vietnamese dishes from a chef who cooked for Gordon Ramsey. It was a great experience.

We then took another night train and man was this one an experience we won’t soon forget. The train was overbooked, the air conditioning was not working in our car, the cockroaches were everywhere, there were people sleeping in our car that had to be evicted and we had to find new sheets and the guy sharing our car had a bad cold which he spread to the rest of us. But where we ended up was truly spectacular. A few hour shuttle bus ride from the train station had us in Halong Bay. This area is a resort type town with Karst (Limestone) Island dotting the horizon. We had an opportunity to take a boat ride through the islands. It was spectacular. We even kayaked into some of the caves along the way.

Our last stop in Vietnam was in Hanoi. This is where the traffic was at its craziest and the streets at their narrowest. We did an 8 hour walking tour in the rain that showcased the cities history and war stories. The town has many good restaurants and bars. We tried out a few. It was from here that we flew to our next destination in Laos.

Vietnam Family Robinson

Motos on the go, watch your step.

Motos at the starting gate

Cliff side fishing houses in Phnom Phen

Snorkeling

Bumper boats. Those tires have a purpose.

View in the night train.

Riding through the rice paddies.

Lisa learning to water.

Wind blow hat

Riding the Water Buffalo

Part of our ride and boat ride adventure in Hoi An

Toilet on the back of the boat.

Motos crossing the river by ferry

Getting ready to abseil

We abseiled through this

Dan on his way down

The alter we landed behind. You can see the light from above

Lisa has learned how to use chop sticks at our home meal.

Wearing a fish moustache

Islands of Halong Bay

Selfie at Halong Bay

Floating fishing villages. The just move them during storms.

More fishing villages

Rock Pillar in one of the island caves

Tour boats waiting for their passengers.

War memorial in Hanoi

Motos parked everywhere.

Lisa is actually tall in Asia

Dan navigating the crowded city streets

This is the sidewalk and why we had to walk on the road

Vietnamese cooking class

Lisa showing off for the teacher

Dan celebrating his "birthday" at the DMZ bar in Hue. There is a
story here as his birthday isn't until August.

Dan after drinking a flaming volcano on his "birthday".

This is a typical street side restaurant.

Crazy Cambodia

We are now in South East Asia in the part they call Indochina which includes Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Lisa and I met our group in Bangkok and left Thailand the next morning for Cambodia. There was a distinctive difference entering Cambodia. The politics here is extremely interesting and well worth a story or two when we get home. The prices of everything are very cheap here. Just to give you an idea Lisa and I can get a full meal and drinks (that is plural for a reason) for 10 to 15 dollars. The one meal we had two seafood platters, two beers and three jugs of mixed drinks for $20 all on the beach. (See Lisa’s expression in the photos below).

This tour is very different from our last one. It’s more about the people and the culture which is extremely different than at home. To sum it up, the word courtesy doesn’t seem to exist in their vocabulary. You have to push and make your way through. Staying in hotels is nice but we do miss the group atmosphere that you get from the camping experience. Our group here is nice but we don’t get the same amount of opportunities to get to know them as well.

Our first night in Cambodia had us in a local village eating at one of the homes. We were treated to an authentic Cambodian meal. Lisa had to use chop sticks as there was no cutlery. We also had a chance to walk through the village and meet some of the children. It was a great experience that really can’t be summed up in words.

We have been to Siem Reap to go to Angkor Wat and the various temples in the area. To see the temples we awoke early to be there when the sun rose. It was a very cool experience. In the afternoon we went to the Tomb Raider (The Movie) temple. It is not as overgrown as in the movie and there was no inside like they showed in the movie but it was still spectacular. We have lots of pictures but have only included a few here.

Our next stop was in Phnom Penh. This is a very busy city with a lot of people. There is quite a bit of seedy goings on and we had to be very careful where we went and our surroundings. To give you an idea of what we are talking about I took a photo of the hotel rules found on the back of our door (check out rule 3 – it is disgusting that they even have to mention that). We have stories to tell on this area as well. The reason for our visit to this city was to go to the killing fields. For those of you that remember this is the area where the government systematically killed thousands of their own people over 5 years and dumped the bodies in mass graves. The day we did this was an extremely emotional day for all of us.

We have also included some photos of the living spaces. Most houses are on stilts for three reasons. For natural air conditioning (they spend most of their time under their houses and in the shade since it is extremely hot and humid here – we have not stopped sweating since we arrived), for flood protection and to keep away from the creepy crawlies at night. There are also some pictures of the things we see travelling down the roads. It is simply mind boggling how and why they would overload their vehicles. We have more stories than pictures but my favorite so far is the mini-van (similar to one of the photos) but add half a dozen people on top with their gear and some of them were standing. It was insane. They also fully utilize their motos (various types of motorcycles).

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves. We’d love to hear what you are doing and what you are up too. Please send us comments, emails or facebook Lisa.

Cambodian Family Robinson